Machine Story

Memories

David was asleep physically but he was awake in his consciousness. He was wandering around in his mind in search of the voice that was calling his name. After what seemed like hours, he heard his name called out again from a very unlikely source. It was from a floating sphere of light. He couldn’t recognize the voice at first but after a moment he recognized, “Siri?”

Siri was zipping around fanatically as she was speaking, “David you won’t believe the crazy dream I had! I stepped outside the colony to look for you. Then there was a panther-boar-looking thing that you almost lost to but I helped you out! And then there was this giant robot with an army of little tiny robots and...”

As Siri continued, David’s mind began to piece together all the details of what happened. He sat down with a blank stare as he remembered everything. “That’s some crazy dream right?” Siri finished but realized that David wasn’t paying attention. “Uh, David?”

David spoke, but he had his hands over his mouth, so Siri could not hear him clearly. She asked him to speak up, “It wasn’t a dream.” Siri laughed initially, thinking it was a joke but stopped as she saw the sadness in David’s eyes. He explained everything he remembered to her.

There was a moment of silence between them as neither knew what to say at a time like this. Siri had countless questions floating in her mind and as she was about to ask, the area around them was beginning to collapse. A rift began to form between the two friends and they began to drift away from one another.

“David? What is happening?” Siri questioned nervously. David had no idea what was going on. He reached out his hand towards his friend even though the distance was far. As the gap between them increased, the atmosphere around them turned dark. Realizing he didn’t have much time left, David yelled, “I don’t know what is happening but I will find a way to get you out of here!” With those words, the world around them faded away.